04/11/2010

The best in the world? Shooters sandwich

The Guardian has recently been parasitizing working hours
from offices across the land by initiating a discussion about the best sandwich
in the world. Suggestions ranged
from the pretentious (Toulouse sausage with Dijonnaise and butterhead lettuce on home-made 50/50 white/wholemeal with poppy, sunflower and linseeds) to the frankly
obscene (prawn cocktail crisps and salad cream). Some people even went for my favourite, the hot lampredotto (tripe) rolls sold from stalls in Florence.

The columnist Tim Hayward’s own suggestion - and the excuse for the article - was shooters
sandwich. Less a sandwich, more a picnic in a loaf, it looked so bloody
delicious I had to give it a go.

The concept is basically beef Wellington in a loaf of bread.
Mushrooms and shallots, sandwiched between steaks, all stuffed into a loaf and
pressed so it doesn’t fall apart. The flavour options chiefly come in the frying of the mushrooms/shallots. Tim Hayward sautéed his in butter and bone
marrow. I used a little olive oil, then added truffle butter and put some lardo
di collonata in the pan also. This, in case you haven’t been introduced, is
salty, herbed, cured fat – like the fat from parma ham but without the meat.
Then a splish of brandy.

I fried the steaks a little under the medium advised (in my defence, I was a bit pissed). For
bread, I got a pain de campagne from Flour Power in Borough Market, but any
crusty round bread would do. Cut the top off, pull all the middle out and
reserve for anything that requires breadcrumbs – I’m going to make
smoked trout fishcakes tonight.

Next, line the bottom of the loaf with a steak, spoon the
mushroom/shallot mixture in, pressing down to fill the spaces, and top with the other
steak. Now I decided the lot would be much improved with the addition of blue
cheese, so I sliced some stilton and layered it on the bread below the first
steak, and on top of the second. This, as it turned out, was A Good Idea.

The Guardian instructions would have you believe that you
should wrap the finished article in greaseproof paper and string, then foil. I
had no such paper, or string, so went straight to the foil stage and it worked
just fine. Thus, including the foil, it’s a 5-ingredient sandwich (bread,
steak, mushrooms, shallots, foil) which makes it an appealingly convenient proposition.

When all the fat and protein are snugly fitted in, put a board (or hefty French food encylopedia) on top and weight down with whatever's handy. Leave for 6 hours min,
or pref overnight. No need to refridgerate. Slice like a cake.

And boy oh boy is this sandwich ever delicious. The flavours mingle like a
dream, the juices soaking into the bread, which still maintains structural
integrity so it acts like a cold pie crust. The blue cheese adds a pungent
gaminess to the mix, but you could easily leave it out if that’s not your
thing. It’s superbly rich – from the cheese but also, perhaps, the butter and –
let’s face it – the cured ham fat. The marvel is, that it’s also portable – you can imagine
bringing this on a shoot, or for a picnic in the park.

Best of all, it makes a whole loaf’s worth. Half of this,
with salad, provided two hearty meals for me and Mr DDD. The rest will do for
work lunches. And there’s nothing more tremendously comforting than knowing there’s such
brilliant snacking fodder in the fridge.

I have now debated for over 12 hours about exactly what I want to say about this sandwich, yet I'm still speechless. Most simply: I think this might be the most delicious-looking morsel I've ever laid eyes upon. I want to eat this. Now. And for every meal for the rest of my life.